Professor Deemer - Scientist, he has almost perfected a growth serum. It works really well on tarantulas, not so good on people. Eaten by the spider.

Sheriff Andrews - Garrulous county lawman, but can he ever make a fashion statement...

Joe Burch - In an old b-movie the reporter is either the hero, or just along for the ride. I listed him fifth out of seven characters, which do you think he is?

Professor Jacobs - Research partner to Deemer, injects himself with the growth serum and dies after complications.

The Tarantula - Originally a cute little guy about the size of a sheep, it escapes during a fracas in the lab. Grows into a genuine monster before saying hello to napalm.

The Plot:

Not for people with Arachnophobia, though you honestly spend around half the film on other subjects. Like a group of men calling the only breeding female within sixty miles "Steve." Her name is Stephanie for crying out loud, not Steve. Steve is some guy you go drinking with, he's probably got hair in weird places, he's not a woman named Stephanie. (Well he might be, it's the nineties after all, but that's another subject.)

Time for a quick overview of the plot. Professors Deemer and Jacobs have been experimenting with a growth serum, when the latter becomes impatient he injects himself and the assistant with it. Unfortunately the experimental drug doesn't work quite right with humans, both men develop Acromegaly (a disease caused by overproduction of growth hormones) and die in a few days. Not before the assistant goes mad and injects Deemer with the serum though, in the ruckus a fire destroys much of the lab and we see the arachnid in question escape from it's cage into the desert.

This is what Stephanie finds upon arriving, the research team she wanted to join is either dead or mutating. Plus the Sheriff and Matt are trying to figure out what is killing cattle, people, heck - anything it wants. (You try telling a three-story tarantula no.) The amusing thing is nobody ever notices it wandering around, you'd think out in the wide open desert people would notice something like that... ...regardless, pretty soon it gets their attention. Not difficult to do after eating a house and then proceeding down the highway toward town.

After bullets and explosives fail to stop it the character's last hope is the U.S. Air Force. You'll be surprised at times by the effects in this movie, one or two of the scenes where it's walking along the landscape are quite good. Shortly after this it'll do something goofy, like seeming to walk on air.

Things I Learned From This Movie:

Sheriffs are very fashion oriented when buying kerchiefs.

In a convertible going fifty miles an hour your hair doesn't move.

Steve is short for Stephanie.

Guys love rabbits.

Spiders constantly make a chirping noise.

If you find a puddle of thick yellow liquid you should taste it.

The number one cause of blackouts in Arizona is giant arachnids.

Most homeowner's policies do not include a "destroyed by enormous tarantula" clause.

Stuff To Watch For:

3 mins - Why is this movie starting off with what appears to be a Neanderthal?

Stephanie: "Do you think it'll work?" Matt: "Dynamite's tricky stuff." Sheriff: "It may blow it up, may just blow the highway up, dog gone I wish we had some nitro." Joe: "I'll have to see that tarantula before I believe it." Matt: "You'll see it Joe and you'll wish you hadn't."

Reply #3. Posted on September 20, 1999, 04:47:26 PM by Dave of MonsterIsland

Here's the review I have posted on my cheesy movies site.

Tarantula

Dir: Jack Arnold

Yet another nifty fifties big bug extravaganza in glorious black and white!!! Loretta must admit a fondness for insects of almostinfinite kind--she often finds herself cheering for the bug, as in Deadly Mantis, that deadly dull b&w fifties delight reviewed nottoo long ago. She thinks tarantulas most elegant and a little more deadly than the stunningly beautiful mantis. She kept hopingher graphics sidekick would find a fiendishly delightful tarantula graphic, but . . . . She still worried about the fact that thescriptwriters thought ONE big bug was enough in yet another fifties discussion of the insidious effect of the A-bomb unleashed.

In Tarantula, Leo G. Carroll poses as the mad-ish scientist running amok with one simple isotope. Loretta couldn't get enoughof the lab rats and guinea pigs as they filled their cages! Actually, the special effects are a class act here, almost rivaling those inThem! . . . but Them! writers have the good sense to threaten the WORLD with an army of ants instead of one giant bug.

Loretta hooted any number of times as the one female star, Mara Corday--a statuesque Mamie Van Doren type, was given therole of a scientist only to serve as handmaiden to our tall, dark, handsome country doctor of a hero, played by theinesteemable John Agar. But . . . the special effects were stellar, given 1950's technology, and the action kept the narrativemoving.

Loretta thought it overkill that the entire ordnance of a squadron of bombers had to be dumped before our tarantula bit thedust. She wonders if Clint Eastwood felt he had taken a giant step in bit parts from his earlier outing in Francis in the Navy!!

I love movie about giant bugs. Who does not? This is one of the all time greats. Giant spider invades small town suburbia, terrizes everyone, heroes try their darndest to kill the thing, to no avail. The doctor due to radiation sickness becomes deformed, as a result. Finally, a simple solution is employed, and the beast dies. Dont you just love it. Get this gem, along with The Deadly Mantis. That is a great double bill for a late night moviethon.

Special effects are the highlight(better than watching a boring STAR WARS flick) of this impressive 50's sci-fi film from Jack Arnold. This would be the insperation for EARTH VS. THE SPIDER(1958) and THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION(1975). Watch for Clint Eastwood as a jet piolt. Acting, cinematography, settings, and script are A+ standards, but the special effects cannot be beat.

This is absolutely my favorite big bug movie of all time. I grew up with this film back in the 60's, first owning it as a 5 minute quickie in the old 8mm home movie format, then taping the movie to listen to on a reel-to-reel tape recorder from The Late Late Show, and then finally buying it in VHS format a couple years back. What a classic flick. Who can forget the impressive special effects they accomplished on a meager budget. And the fantastic musical score still knocks me out. The scene where the horses sense something wrong just beyond the hill is truly creepy. Still gives me chills every time. I also dig The Deadly Mantis. Saw it at a Drive-In around 1961 when I was 6. I loved it, but didn't know what a mantis was then, so I thought it was a giant grasshopper!

Between _Tarantula_ and _Wild Wild West_...I don't think I remember any more impressive spider-type machines in movies. (And if anyone mentions any iteration of _Robot Jocks_...You will meet with certain doom! I said "impressive," people!)